In Sports News this Monday: the Czech Republic’s footballers beat Poland
in Prague but would still need a miracle to reach next year’s World Cup;
Czech manager Ivan Hašek says his charges have given their all since he
took the helm; and at almost 57 years old, legendary Czech jockey Josef
Váňa wins the gruelling Velká pardubická on Tiumen, a horse he himself
trains.

Czechs set to miss out on 2010 World Cup despite win over Poland

Czech Republic's Milan Baroš (left) fights for a ball with Arkadiusz Glowacki of Poland, photo: CTK
Unless a minor miracle occurs, the Czech Republic’s footballers will not
be going to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Czechs beat Poland 2:0
in Prague on Saturday night with second half goals from Tomáš Necid and
Jaroslav Plašil. However, a game taking place in Bratislava at the same
time did not go the Czech Republic’s way: Slovenia beat the hosts
Slovakia 2:0, making it all but certain that those two teams will top the
group. The only hope the Czechs have now is if they beat Northern Ireland
at home on Wednesday – and the Slovenes somehow fail to overcome the
part-timers of San Marino, who last won a game five years ago (and that was
against Lichtenstein).

Ivan Hašek took over as Czech manager when World Cup qualification was
already looking rather uncertain. He was asked what he had said to his
players after the game.

“Of course we thanked them for their performance and approach. Nobody
was celebrating in the dressing room. But at the same time, they’re pros
– they fulfilled their duties for the national team with total
dedication. As long as I’ve been here, I couldn’t say anybody had
worked less than we asked them to. Quite the opposite. And they’ll also
take a really responsible approach for the final game, because they know
the game is at home and they’re playing for the fans.”

Ivan Hašek, photo: CTK
Hašek appointed himself national coach in his role as head of the Czech
football association. He is unlikely to stay on as manager for much longer,
and said he will make his plans clear after the game against Northern
Ireland. With regards to players, Marek Jankulovski, who has 77 caps, will
pull on the Czech jersey for the last time on Wednesday night.

Josef Váňa and Tiumen, photo: CTK
The great Czech jockey Josef Váňa came first in this year’s Velká
pardubická on Tiumen, to make it a record six wins in the gruelling
steeplechase. Remarkably, Váňa is 57 years old next week, and is said to
be the oldest professional jump jockey in the world. On Sunday Váňa
utilised his experience from 22 previous rides in the race to send Tiumen
in front with only one obstacle, a hurdle, to jump.

“He isn’t a top class horse on the flat but he really has great
stamina. Sixteen was maybe a threat, but by then I was coming home. I
didn’t look around, as I couldn’t see any horse on either my left or my
right…With maybe 40 metres to go I started to believe I could win the
Velká pardubická for the sixth time.”

Photo: CTK
Tiumen was considered to be the worst of four horses trained by Josef
Váňa taking part in the 119th Velká pardubická, and he said afterwards
he was annoyed runner-up Sixteen, another of his horses, had not come first
for the third year in a row. As for whether he himself will race again next
year, the jockey, a national legend in the Czech Republic, wasn’t saying.